Hosea 11 - 12

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The Beloved Son

When Israel was a youth I loved him,

And out of Egypt I called My son.

The more they called them,

The more they went from them;

They kept sacrificing to the Baals

And burning incense to graven images.

Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk;

I took them in My arms;

But they did not know that I healed them.

I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love,

And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;

And I bent down and fed them.

They will not return to the land of Egypt;

But Assyria—he will be their king

Because they refused to return to Me.

And the sword will whirl against their cities

And will consume their gate bars

And devour them because of their counsels.

So My people are hung up on turning from Me.

Though they call them to the One on high,

None at all exalts Him.

How can I give you up, O Ephraim?

How can I surrender you, O Israel?

How can I give you over to be like Admah?

How can I make you like Zeboiim?

My heart is turned over within Me;

All My compassions are stirred.

I will not execute My burning anger;

I will not make Ephraim a ruin again.

For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,

And I will not come in wrath.

They will walk after Yahweh;

He will roar like a lion;

Indeed, He will roar,

And His sons will come trembling from the west.

They will come trembling like birds from Egypt

And like doves from the land of Assyria;

And I will settle them in their houses, declares Yahweh.

Ephraim surrounds Me with lies

And the house of Israel with deceit;

And Judah is also unruly against God,

Even against the Holy One who is faithful.

Ephraim feeds on wind

And pursues the east wind continually;

He abounds in falsehood and destruction.

Moreover, he cuts a covenant with Assyria,

And oil is carried to Egypt.

Yahweh’s Contention with Judah

And Yahweh has a contention with Judah

And will punish Jacob according to his ways;

He will cause everything to return to him according to his deeds.

In the womb he took his brother by the heel,

And in his maturity he wrestled with God.

Indeed, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;

He wept and sought His favor.

He found Him at Bethel,

And there He spoke with us,

Even Yahweh, the God of hosts,

Yahweh is His name of remembrance.

Therefore, return to your God,

Keep lovingkindness and justice,

And hope in your God continually.

A merchant, in whose hands are deceptive balances,

He loves to oppress.

And Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich;

I have found wealth for myself;

In all my labors they will find in me

No iniquity, which would be sin.”

But I have been Yahweh your God since the land of Egypt;

I will make you settle in tents again,

As in the days of the appointed festival.

And I have spoken to the prophets,

And I made visions abound,

And by the hand of the prophets I gave parables.

Is there wickedness in Gilead?

Surely they are worthless.

In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;

Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps

Beside the furrows of the field.

Now Jacob fled to the field of Aram,

And Israel worked for a wife,

And for a wife he kept sheep.

But by a prophet Yahweh brought Israel up from Egypt,

And by a prophet he was kept.

Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger;

So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him

And cause his reproach to return to him.

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